``Wasim (Akram) was not considered because of a suspected shoulder injury while Waqar (Younis) and Moin (Khan) were not considered because we wanted them to prepare for the demanding and gruelling tour of Africa,'' Altaf told Dawn from his Lahore residence.
Asked if Wasim was consulted about his injury, Salim Altaf said: ``The situation was very dicy and he was struggling with his shoulder in the match against India (at Sharjah). He was clearly uncomfortable. Then we were told that he has proceeded to England for a check-up. So we (selectors) decided to leave him out so that he can get some time to give rest to the injured bowling arm.''
Over the exclusion of Waqar Younis, Altaf said the information about the wickets in Dhaka was that they were spinning ones. ``So we thought instead of making him (Waqar Younis) struggle on those docile tracks, let him have a break.
``As far as Moin Khan is concerned, he had been keeping wickets non-stop for the last 18 months. He deserved a break. After all, if he had minor injuries, they all needed some time to heal-up.''
Salim Altaf emphasised that the basic concept of leaving out the trio was to have them in top physical shape for the African safari. ``We want them mentally and physically fit for the South Africa and Zimbabwe tours which are very arduous besides being very tough.''
Salim Altaf categorically denied that the ouster of the three was because of reasons other than cricket.
``We lost the Sharjah event because of poor planning. I personally feel that Azhar Mahmood should have gone ahead of Wasim Akram or even Moin Khan. But we (selectors) don't like to impose ourselves upon the team management.''
On the selection of unknown Yousuf Yohanna, Salim Altaf opined that he saw the youngster in two warm-up matches that England played earlier last month. ``The boy showed promise and talent. In addition to this, there were problems at No 5 and 6 positions. Therefore, we decided to give him an opportunity to him to show his potential at international level.''
When asked what was the idea behind awarding free Test and one-day caps to the players, the chief selector said the main idea was to prepare a team for the 1999 World Cup. ``I promise you that when the time comes to pick the team for the World Cup, we will have a larger pool to look at instead of having a select number of players of whom even some might not be around when the event comes.''
Salim Altaf expressed his disagreement with the theory of having separate teams for one-day and Test cricket. Though he didn't rule out the possibility if it becomes a normal practice in future.
``I feel that the best players should get the chance to play, whether it be Tests or one-dayers. If the players are good, they can adjust to different levels of the game.''
Discussing the team for the South Africa and Zimbabwe tours, Salim Altaf admitted that the situation had become very interesting after Rashid Latif was appointed captain for the Dhaka tournament.
``I don't know what the Council will do (while appointing captain), but the situation is very tricky. I have no idea who will be the captain (on the African tour) because it's the job of the Council. But I certainly know that the balance of the team will be tilted if Rashid Latif was made an official (captain or vice-captain).
``If that happens, naturally Rashid will become the No 1 wicketkeeper as he cannot sit out,'' Altaf opined.
Salim Altaf gave his consent when asked his committee would shoulder an additional responsibility of recommending a captain. ``Technically, the Council is the only competent authority to appoint a captain. But if we are entrusted this job by the Council, we would not reject it because I feel that when we can judge the real potential of a player in the field, we can also gauge the leadership qualities of the same player.''